Corset.



PATENTED SEPT 5, 1905.

E. WEST.

GRSET.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. zz. 1902.

ELLEN lVES'l, OF VICTORIA, CANADA.

CORSET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 5, 1905.

Application filed September 22,1902. Serial No. 124,387.

To (1,7/ '1 /'kont 'if 71mg/ concern:

Be it known that l, ELLEN lVnsr, residing at Victoria, in the ProvinceofBritish Columbia and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in(for sets, of which the 'following is aspecification4 In the ordinary makes of corsets meansare provided forkeeping the steels or stay members from creeping lengthwise in thepockets made in the corset fabric, whereby to keep the corset in itsorig'inal shape and the ends of the steels from projecting tln'ough thefabric, and thereby presenting sharp or abrupt projections which tend totear the wearing-apparel and injure the user. l'lerctofore to properlyhold the steels within their receivingpockets eyelets have been driventhrough the said steels and the fabric that covers the steels,:fabric-binding edges being also usually employed to provide a reinforcefor the upper and lower edges of the corset to hold the steels fromworking through. 'hile the means aforesaid serve their purpose in ageneral way, `l have found they do not effect all the results desired,for the reason that as the upper and lower edges of the corset usuallywear the quickest the fabric binding's soon rot and form practically noresistance against the longitudinal creeping strain of the steels, andin cases where eyelets are used for holding' the fabric and steelstogether the fabric is made fast to the steels only at the clamping orlateral edges of the eyelets, which in their application Vfrequently cutthrough the fabric that covers the steels, whereby the said eyelets format best a very meager grip on the goods upon the opposite sides of thesteel, and by reason thereof and the quick rotting of the materialaround the eyelet connections the fabric and the eyelets soon separate,and thereby leave the steels free to creep longitudinally through thetop and bottom ends of the Vfabric that surrounds or incloses the saidsteels.

My invention especially seeks to provide an improved means Vfor holdingthe steels firmly within the pockets or that portion of the fabric inwhich they are contained and in such way that the breaking through ofthe ends of the steels is rendered almost impossible and in which thefastening' is of such character as to be not affected by the ordinaryuse of the corset and the rotting of the fabric adjacent thefastening-point and in which the fastening isalso of such character asto avoid a strain on the fabric at that point just adja- .cent ordirectly surroumling the eyelet-fiange and adapted to distribute thestrain in such manner as to allow for more than ordinary handling` orstrain on thc steels without materially changing the shape thereof orpermitting a lengthwise action of the same within the fabric pockets.

My invention consists in certain detailed combination and cooperativearrai'igement of parts, hereinafter Vfully described, and specificallypointed out in the appended claim, ref'- erence being had to theaccompanying' drawing` in which m Vl*`i, 1,ure l is a view of a corsetembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vface view of a portion thereof.Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section thereof on the line 3 3 ofFig. i2. Fig. is a horizontal section of the same.

In the drawings, (l designates the corset, which in its generalconstruction and contour may be of any well-known or conventional style,as the particular shape of the corsetbody forms no part of my invention.

'lhe steels or stays S are held within the. longif-udinally-extemledpockets or plates l), constituting an integral part of the corset fabricc, which are formed by stitching or any other well-known and improvedmanner. At the upper and lower edges of the corset the Vfabric is turnedover the upper and lower ends s of the steels S to provide closureportions for covering the said ends of the steel. As is well known, theturned portions c' of the fabric in ordinary use soon wears away or istorn by the endwise strain of the steels thcreagainst, and the saidcovering portions, as before stated, are usually reinforced by a bindingand the steels held from creeping endwise by joining them with thefabric at the opposite sides-by means of eyelets arranged one near eachend of the steels and at such points between the ends where the greateststrain or tendency of the steels and fabric to creep relatively to eachother occurs. ln my improved construction of corset l provide a specialmeans` for joining the steels and the Yfabric and which particularlyprovides for joining the said two parts in such manner that the tendencyof theI fabric pulling or tearing away at the eyelet connection isrcduced to the minimum and a joint produced that serves to sustain alirm and rigid connection of the two parts under all of the ordinarypull strains between the Afabric and the steels incident in the usualhandling and wearing of the corset. In my construction thc IOO ITO

eyelets E are used at the ends of the, steels; but instead of utilizingthe iianges of the eyelets for gripping the fabric against the steels 'Iprovide a supplemental means in the nature of U-shaped metal clips B,which serve the double function of providing a positive reinforce forthe covering or closure portion c of the fabric and a wide or spreadclampingsurface for firmly gripping that part of the fabric surroundingthe eyelet-shanks e, that project at opposite sides of the steels, itbeing evident, by referring to Fig. 3 of the drawings, that the oppositefiat ends 7) of the clips B form a firm and positive means for holdingthe fabric flatwise against the steels, and as the said ends b areclamped to oppose each other and against the steels it follows that thestrain on the fabriciis not on that portion thereof surrounding theeyelet-shank, as is ordinarily the case, but is distributed over agreatly-increased surface and around the edges of the members I; of theclips B. Again, by reason of the clips passing over the ends of thesteels, as shown, the endwise or creeping action of the steels will beeffectively retarded and all dangerV of a sharp or abrupt edgeprojecting' up through the fabric, which might tear the apparel oreffect an injury to the wearer, may be avoided.

The metal clips Bin practice may be readily held from view by the laceedging L, sewed on the upper and lower edges of the corset, as shown. Atpoints between the ends of the steels, Where desired, the ordinaryeyelet-fastenings may also be used.

From the foregoing, taken in connection mvices in which an eyclet isincluded, and I therefore make no broad claim for such feature. Myinvention differentiates from the ordinary tag-fastenings and other likeeyeletfastening devices, so far as I know, in the ap plication of theU-shaped clip in connection with the eyelets for fastening thecorsetsteels from endwise creeping within the fabric body that surroundsthem and which acts as a positive means for covering the sharp or abruptends of the steels in such manner that the danger of tearing thewearing-apparel or injuring the wearer is entirely overcome.

I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates- As an improvement in corsets, the combination with the corsetfabric having longitudinal pockets formed by the overlapping ends of thefabric, and the steels held in said pockets with the fabric surroundingthe edges, sides and ends thereof, of U -shaped metal clips adapted tofit over the ends of the steels and the fabric surrounding said ends,and eyelets passing through the steels, the fabric and the clips to holdthe same together, substantially as shown and described.

l ELLEN WEST.

Witnesses:

JAuEs WEST, KATHERINE MCGUIRE.

